NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.

The Cell Base Station

Overview

A cell (base station) is a physical region where a particular set of frequencies serves
users, with adjacent cells using different frequencies to avoid interference. The cell base
station serves as the air interface between the mobile phone and the cellular system; it is
the first or last transmission leg of every cellular telephone call, whether that call is
mobile-originated or mobile-terminated. Cell base stations are capable of handling mul-
tiple simultaneous conversations, and serve as the initial access point to the wireless
network. There are multiple low-power radio transmitter/receivers (transceivers) located
at each base station for the purpose of carrying customer conversations. Each cellular
telephone is also a standalone transceiver. The cell base station is also known by the
acronym BTS, for base transceiver station. The radio frequency emitted by a cell base
station covers a geographic sector ("cell”), and cell base stations are created by carving
up counties and/or cities into small areas called cells; hence the name cellular.

The term cell is derived from its hexagonal shape, which is similar to that of a cell
within a bee's honeycomb. Cell sizes are not necessarily the same. Cells can range in
size from less than a mile across, up to around 30 mi across, depending upon terrain,
system capacity needs, and geographic location (urban or rural). Generally, cell sizes
are very small in urban areas and larger in rural areas, as a result of population density
and the overall amount of traffic on the wireless system.

Trivia: In Chicago in 199~, Cellular Ones average cell size was 2 mi. In downtown
Chicago, the cell size is half a mile or less. When the system was first built, the average
size of a cell site was 5 to 10 mi. Cell sizes became smaller as traffic on the system grew
and more cells were added to accommodate the increased capacity required.

Criteria and Methods for Cell Placement

The main criterion for determining where a cell base station will be located is where the
customers are, or where they will be. This focus was initially on mobile subscribers
(i.e., car phone users), and thus sites were usually placed along major roads and
highways. Information on vehicular traffic is found from R4'nd McNally interstate road
maps and from traffic studies by state and local departments of transportation. This
information was used to determine the optimal placement for new base stations. The
focus on where to install cell sites shifted in the 1990’s to include areas of high
pedestrian traffic (i.e., shopping malls, downtown areas, nightlife areas). This was due
to the immense popularity of the portable, pocket cellular telephone.
 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

Overall site selection today is based on population centers and densities, traffic densities
on highways and major roads, the proximity of existing cells, and the existing
frequency-reuse plan. Maintaining interference-free service while growing a cellular
system is the most challenging task faced by wireless engineers.

Selecting Cell Site Locations

Several key parameters must be examined in determining an ideal location for a cell
base station. First and foremost, what area do you want to cover with radio? What is the
height of the terrain above mean sea level (AMSL)? Also, is the area in a flood plain?
Ideal urban cell site locations are in business areas such as industrial parks and strip
malls. Residential areas should be avoided when possible for aesthetic reasons (towers).

Cell sites are usually named after the area where they exist-for example, a town, a
highway, or a mountain. Sometimes cell sites are named after company executives or
employees, or are even simply numbered. The topology of the landscape sometimes
makes it impossible to place cell base stations in convenient locations. For example, in
mountainous regions such as the Western United States, some cells are placed right at
the peak of a mountain in order to maximize the radio coverage area for that cell. These
locations may be accessible only by helicopter and can be snowed in for months at a
time. In order to reach some of these locations, a cell site technician might have to use a
four-wheel drive vehicle for part of the run up a hill or mountain, then a snowmobile,
and then walk the remaining distance to the site. These cells can run off of solar power
or huge propane tanks that are filled before the winter weather sets in. The tanks can
hold enough fuel to operate the cell nonstop until spring. In areas like those described
above, some cells are even constructed on stilts above the projected snow line so that
technicians can enter the cell unimpeded.

Trivia: Ameritech Cellular used a real blimp to simulate signal characteristics (and
hence quality of coverage) at potential cell site locations. The blimp was about 14 ft tall
and 40 ft long. It would be tethered at a potential cell location about 300 ft above
ground level. There was a 10-dB antenna inside the blimp with coax cable running
down to ground level to an amplifier. By using the blimp to simulate a cell site,
Ameritech engineers could determine whether the location would be good or less than
ideal for construction of an actual cell. The blimp was an alternative to renting a crane,
which would cost around $10,000 per test.
 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

Cell Site Acquisition and Deployment

In new markets where cellular service had never been offered before, cellular engineers
had to place cells in or near the population centers and along major roads and highways.
Today, the locations for constructing new cell sites in existing cellular markets that have
already been built-out can be a joint decision (a compromise) agreed upon by marketing
and RF (radio frequency) design engineers. However, the proximity of existing cells and
the existing frequency-reuse plan must be taken into account when examining potential
cell placement options.

Wireless system engineers use search rings to designate areas where site acquisition
specialists should seek land for a new cell site. Search rings describe a three-ringed
geographic area that is deemed optimal for intended wireless radio coverage. The site
acquisition specialists should try to obtain a new cell location within the center of the
search ring's geographic area. If they are not successful in finding a location in the
center of the area, then they should seek to place a new cell within the second ring in the
target area, and possibly into the third ring, until they are successful. See Figure 4-1 for
a depiction of the search ring concept.

Note: Where a new cell is ultimately placed will affect the frequency reuse plan and RF
power levels at nearby base stations.

Figure: Site acquisition search rings

 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

Cell sites may now be located at just about any land area or structure: on farms, in
church steeples, on water towers, in hotel and motel signs, in apartments, and even on
light towers at athletic fields. Some wireless carriers have even mounted their antennas
on the top of grain elevators. When referring to cell site location in this manner, we are
actually referring to places where the carrier's antennas may be mounted. Local
municipalities are becoming much more stringent when approving new base station
installations, especially in urban areas. This is due to community resistance to
unsightly" towers, and is sometimes known as the "NIMBY" phenomenon in municipal
political circles-"not in my back yard." To that end, tower vendors have undertaken new
initiatives to create towers that are camouflaged. Many times wireless carriers have to
dispatch special teams to testify before municipal zoning boards to get approval to
install base stations/towers. These teams emphasize the benefits of wireless service to
the community and try to come to an agreement with the zoning boards as to what it
will take to get the approval to install a new base station (i.e., tower) in a specific area.
Sometimes zoning boards will even extract certain concessions from wireless carriers,
such as mandating the carriers paint the towers a certain color restricting the towers to
certain heights, or mandating that the carrier share the site's tower with other wireless
carriers. Some zoning boards will even request that the wireless carrier repave village
parking lots or build new community parks, to demonstrate their "commitment" to the
local community and "give something back" to the community for the right to install
towers.

Today, many wireless carriers deploy their base stations on water towers, sometimes
called water tanks. This type of deployment can be a win-win situation for all parties
involved: the wireless carrier is spared from constructing an expensive tower, and a
municipality receives a monthly payment from the wireless carrier for renting the space
on the water tower. The monthly charge for renting space on top of a water tower can be
anywhere from $500 to $3000, depending on the location of the water tower and the
local government that is involved. Sometimes wireless carriers get very creative in their
efforts to mount a base station on top of a water towel-. One water tower in a suburb of
Chicago allowed a wireless carrier to mount their base station (antennas) on the top of
the water tower. However, the carrier had to repaint the water tower-with the name of
the village on it-as a condition of being allowed to mount their site on the tower. On the
plus side, though, the carrier also was allowed to paint their name and logo onto the
tower as well, which resulted in free advertising! Sometimes water towers will even
support multiple carriers (sets of antennas). One water tower in suburban Chicago has a
base station (set of antennas) on top of the water tower and three additional base
stations (sets of antennas) from three different carriers on the neck or "stem" of the
water tower. Sometimes antennas that are installed on a water tower have a "collar." A
collar is a nylon or fiberglass wrap that is literally wound around the antenna mounting
to make the antenna structure invisible to the general public.
 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

In urban areas, many wireless carriers also deploy (new) base stations on rooftops of
multistory buildings. Rooftops are ideal places for base stations as they represent a
replacement for the construction of a tower; thus wireless carriers are spared from the
capital cost of tower construction. The building owners also "win" in this situation as
they are generating revenue in the form of monthly payments for space that might
otherwise go unused.

Monthly rent for a rooftop base station can run anywhere from $500 to $3000, but the
average cost is about $1000 per month. Similar to water tower rent, rooftop rental fees
are dependent on the building owner and possibly the height of the building itself.

Another trend that has become commonplace regarding base station deployment is for
municipalities to concentrate all wireless carrier cell sites (towers) within a small
geographic area, around a half mile in diameter These cell site clusters" minimize the
negative environmental impact of unsightly towers by containing all the sites to one
specific area.

The industry average cost to build an entire base station can range from $500,000 to
around $750,000, depending on the type and amount of equipment used and the
manufacturer. This includes the costs for the land (lease or buy), the tower if one is
necessary the shelter that houses the equipment, the base station equipment (radio
transceivers, etc.), and antennas and coaxial cable.

As recently as 1995, this cost was around $1,000,000. Many factors contributed to the
decrease in the cost of cell sites, mainly the reduction in cell site equipment costs due to
larger volumes being ordered by wireless carriers, specifically by the new PCS carriers.
Components became smaller too hence cheaper.

The average lead time to install a new base station is approximately 6 months to a year.
That reflects the time from no lease" to a fully operational cell site.

Station Shelters

Older cell base stations, and some newer Personal Communication Services (PCS) base
stations, deploy small self-contained shelters at the bottom of the towers at cell sites.
The shelters house all the base station equipment that's necessary to make a cell site run.
Shelters are also sometimes known by the acronym CLV, which stands for controlled
environmental vault." Newer base station manufacturers (i.e., Lucent Technologies)
make self-contained cabinets that house all the equipment required to make a cell site
function.
 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

These cabinets are stand-alone objects, and are 5 ft long, approximately 5 ft high, and 2
ft in depth. Cabinets have taken the place of the costlier shelter for those carriers that
choose to deploy them. The main purpose of shelters and cabinets is to keep equipment
safe from the elements--cool and dry.

Today with the explosion of wireless service and the accompanying proliferation of
base stations, more communities are cracking down on building and cabinet pollution.
They want shelters to blend in to the environment better. Shelters that are aesthetically
pleasing are more sought after by community zoning boards. Just as disguised antennas
and towers are gaining more recognition with zoning boards, attractive and less
obtrusive shelters are on their way to setting a new trend in residential cell site planning.
One option toward keeping shelters from being an eyesore is to keep them to a
minimum. Today, a single tower can have several providers leasing space on it, but the
drawback is that each of those providers will also be deploying their own shelter at the
base of the tower. With the variety of shelter designs, colors, and fence heights, the base
of a tower can begin to resemble a haphazard shantytown. Modular shelters can help
prevent this situation. These shelters are one physical unit that allows multiple carriers
to be corralled together within a singular structure. Carriers get their separate space,
contained behind a chain-link fence within the structure.

Another shelter option is structures that have brick or stone appearances on the outside.
Brick shelters blend in to residential neighborhoods better than steel or fiberglass
shelters. Sometimes a carrier will just paint a shelter or add shrubbery to the outside, to
have it match the surrounding buildings. This has proven to be an effective and low-cost
method some shelter vendors have employed.

Some manufacturers even make bulletproof shelters, because in some areas the shelters
are used for target practice. One shelter manufacturer has plans to make a shelter that
looks like a boulder, so that it will completely blend into its landscape.

Security is also an issue to be remembered when installing a shelter. Keeping the

equipment safe is the most important goal when selecting a shelter design, according to
industry engineers. To that end, most shelters have 8- to 10-ft fences erected around
them, topped with barbed wire. Shelter doors are made of steel, outfitted with steel pry-
resistant latch guards and tamper-resistant hinge pins. One carrier provides motion
detectors and alarms on some of its remote shelters to dissuade trespassers.
 NetPro Certification Courseware for NetPro Certified Telecom Engineer – N.C.T.E

Cells on Wheels (COWs)

COW is an acronym, which stands for cell on wheels. A COW is essentially a cell site
(shelter) that is mounted on a flatbed tractor-trailer. It contains all the equipment that is
normally used at a regular cell site. COWs are used for emergency purposes in any
number of situations, for instanc4 if a tower fell down or an entire base station were
inoperable.

COWs have built-in towers as well. The makeshift tower on a COW is usually a
telescopic monopole that is erected from the truck itself. COWs are capable of
providing for call handoff Per industry slang, a large-sized COW is known as a bull;
smaller-sized COWs are known as calves, and a large number of COWs is known as a
herd.

MSCs can also be housed on tractor4railers for emergency purpose~ A perfect example
is the story of a cellular carrier that owned the rights to operate in the Davenport, Iowa,
MSA. During the Great Flood of 1992, this carrier's Davenport MSC was flooded and
ruined. To solve the problem, the cellular carrier placed an MSC-on-wheels next to the
site of the ruined MSC. When the carrier reconstructed the original MSC, it housed it on
the second story of a building.